Waitlist and Deferral Steps

Universities offer students spots on the waitlist if they are not able to admit them immediately (based on calculations of how many universities they accept vs. how many students actually decide to attend that school), but who had strong enough applications that they could be great students at that school.

If the yield for the university that waitlisted you is lower than they anticipated (so, if less people accepted the offer of admissions than they had anticipated), they will make admissions offers to those on the waitlist.

You should consider the other university acceptances and financial aid packages you receive, and decide whether or not you would prefer the university at which you were waitlisted over these options. Keep in mind that, while you may qualify for need-based financial aid, it is unlikely that you would get any merit-based financial aid from a university that admits you off the waitlist. It is okay not to pursue a school that waitlisted you if you are more excited about your other options.

Make sure you don’t miss commitment deadlines for other universities you have been admitted to. It is quite rare for students to be admitted off of a waitlist, so you don’t want to give up other opportunities with the hope of being admitted to the school that waitlisted you.

Universities vary in some of their policies and procedures for waitlists. That means you should review information about the waitlist for the specific institution. Usually the information can be found online, like here is the page explaining waitlists at MIT.

Write a Letter of Continued Interest to the university where you were waitlisted:

1. A letter of continued interest is a letter that you send to an admissions officer that explains that you are still interested in attending, and why you are excited about the university.

2. WARNING: Some universities may explicitly ask you NOT to send any additional information or materials. If this is the case, respect that request and DO NOT send anything.

3. Some universities, though, will accept or even ask for additional information to consider when bringing people in off the waitlist. What they are asking for is the Letter of Continued Interest

4. Please use the following resources to draft your Letter of Continued Interest

   1. College Essay Guy: How to Write a Great Letter of Continued Interest: Guide and Example

   2. Ingenious Prep: How to Write a Compelling Letter of Continued Interest

If you want edits on your initial draft, please email the draft to your mentor or the SYE team!

Edit, edit, edit. Remember that this letter may be the difference between an acceptance and rejection. You want to put your best foot forward.

Once you have finalized, identify the admissions officer for your country/ region, or for international students more generally. Depending on the university, their specialization may be more or less specific.

Email the letter by May 1 (or whatever the date to commit is)